Interview with Rome I - Part 7 of 17

As Steve Fisch and I get the scripts ready to sell Rome's Revolution as a streaming series, he asked me for a lot of background information that I did not have. So I took some time out to interview Rome and Rei. Rome was very talkative so I had to break up the interview into two parts. Rei was a bit more concise. So here is the first Rome interview, part 7 of 17.
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Perry: You must have been very sad.
Rome: I was but by this point, I was so good at burying my emotions that I didn’t show much of anything. My mother was distraught and held onto me the whole time. I held her back but I pushed away my feelings. I think that hurt my mother even more but she never chastised me about it. My mother never truly really recovered. It was like a part of her was gone. I didn’t really understand what she was going through until I met Rei. Since that time, I’ve experienced that sense of loss several times. I try not to feel guilty about it but sometimes I can’t help it. I should have been there for her more but the world I lived in didn’t permit it.
Perry: I understand when you were growing up, and before that, most children were not raised by their parents. Didn’t that allow you some leeway?
Rome: You’re correct. A standard issue “good” Vuduri is chosen by the Overmind to procreate. The mother is selected and made to ovulate. The father, really sperm donor, is selected and inseminates her. Roughly 280 days later, the baby is born. As soon as it is able, it’s transported to a creche and raised with the other children. Those children never even know their parents. The fact that my parents raised me was very unusual but then my whole situation was unusual.
Perry: Continue
Rome: When it was time to specialize, as I said, I was assigned to data archiving and also trained as a computer lutteur. To be completely frank, I was very, very good at it. Easily the best in my class. But once again, being a mosdurece reared its ugly head. I was passed over time and again for various assignments. My duties back then, well, they were boring. I knew my talents were being wasted but I had long since relinquished a way to protest.
Perry: But you were selected for the mission to Tabit.
Rome: Yes. Commander Ursay was put in charge of staffing the mission. He was not burdened by the same prejudice as others. I remember the day he walked into, I suppose you would call it our place of employment, and simply pointed to me. I knew exactly what it was about. I collected my things and walked out and never looked back. I could tell my peers were jealous but a Vuduri would never admit such a thing. In Iomas, in 1374, we boarded the Algol and took off for Tabit. I was 24 at the time. A little old for my first assignment but this was very, very important.
Perry: How long did it take you to get out there? To Tabit?
Rome: 104 days, or at least that is what our timepieces told us.
Perry: I understand the distance back then, with just the PPT drive, was formidable. What did you do during that time?
Rome: During the entire trip, first and foremost, we exercised. Obviously, we ate and slept. The remainder of the time was more of mental exercise. We worked on integration and development of our Overmind. It was actually fairly intense.
Perry: You said what your timepieces told you. From what I know, they were off somehow?
(Rome nods)

Tomorrow, part 8